Empirical Revealed Preference

Abstract

This article aims to provide an introduction to empirical revealed preference (RP) and an overview of the current state of the field. We hope to give a sense of how RP methods work and the types of questions they can address and to assess the strengths and drawbacks of the approach. After briefly recapping the basics of RP theory, we review and critically assess the literature in two main areas representing the principal fields in which recent research has made significant advances: broadening the scope of RP methods and dealing with empirical issues related to bringing RP to the data. We conclude with a discussion of some future directions.